Wouter Vanhees (1978) is a Belgian photographer based in Asia since 2015. After having lived and worked in Hanoi and Mumbai, he currently resides in Seoul. Sense of place, memory and liminality are some of the ideas he explores in his artistic work. With his publications, he aims to create modest, tangible representations of his time spent in a certain city.
Wouter's work has been featured and exhibited at Busan International Photo Festival, IMAGINAIR Art/space, Jakarta International Photo Festival, Belfast Photo Festival, OpenWalls Arles, Matca Space for Photography, Angkor Photo Festival and Workshops, The Washington Post, Corriere dela Serra, VICE Asia, American Suburb X, L'Oeil de la Photographie, etc. Below is a full overview of all awards, exhibitions and features to date.
EXHIBITIONS / AWARDS
2025 Busan International Photo Festival - Art Space Won-ji, Busan, Republic of Korea
2025 Fujifilm Photo Festa 2025 - Nodeul Gallery, Seoul, Republic of Korea
2025 XXX OCULI - Group Show S3/1 - IMAGINAIR Art/space, Brussels, Belgium
2021 Jakarta International Photo Festival - Jakarta, Indonesia
2021 Belfast Photo Festival - Belfast, Northern Ireland - selected winner in the 'Photobook' category
2020 Solo Exhibition - Matca Space for Photography, Hanoi, Vietnam
2020 OpenWalls - Galerie Huit Arles, Arles, France - selected winner in the 'Single Image - Growth' category
2019 Angkor Photo Festival and Workshops - Siem Reap, Cambodia
2019 Cities In Transition - Hanoi, Vietnam
PRESS
2025 The Appeal of a Place and Story – Review of “Against the Tide” by Wouter Vanhees at Frames Magazine
2025 Soundtrack Van Een Stad at VIW Magazine 126 - Zomer 2025
2025 Wouter Vanhees - Against The Tide at The PhotoBook Journal
2022 Making Darkness Visible: Wouter Vanhees at Lenscratch
2021 Hanoi Through the Lens of a Belgian Photographer at Vietnam Pictorial
2021 Interesting Artist and Photographic Books for 2021 at The PhotoBook Journal
2021 Wouter Vanhees - Hà Nội – Wednesday, 10:43 p.m. at American Suburb X
2021 On The Clarity Of Night at FRAMES Magazine
2021 Wouter Vanhees – Hà Nội at The PhotoBook Journal
2021 Fotografo Di Notte La Hanoi Che Cambia I Colori at La Lettura - Corriere dela Serra
2021 At Night, When Hanoi Stands Still at The Overview
2021 Wouter Vanhees : Hà Nội, Wednesday, 10:43 p.m. at L'Oeil de la Photographie
2020 Dossier - Read: Hà Nội - Wednesday, 10:43 p.m. at Design Anthology Asia Edition - Issue 27
2020 In Search of Saigon - HCMC Through Photographs at Matca
2020 These Photos Capture The Eerie Quiet Of Hanoi's Emptry Streets at VICE Asia
2020 Nocturnal Isolation In Hanoi at Posi+Tive Magazine
2020 Wouter Vanhees And His Photography Journey In Hanoi at Mystery Tribune
2020 Wouter Vanhees. Vietnam Skin at Urbanautica
2020 Hanoi Reflection By Wouter Vanhees at Dodho Magazine
2020 Nocturnal Wanderings In Hanoi With Photographer Wouter Vanhees at Plain Magazine
2020 Reflections About A Place at FujiLove Magazine
2019 Hanoi Is Shedding Its Skin. So What To Make Of Its Spirit? at The Washington Post
2019 Hanoi Skin. Nocturnal Images Of A City In Flux at Fujilove Magazine
2019 Insights from IPA Mentorship Program at Matca
COLLECTIONS
FOMU Antwerp Library
